Attorney general: Weak schools may be shut in coming year

Michigan's attorney general says the state may close persistently low-performing public schools in Detroit before the end of this academic year if they were among the lowest-achieving for the preceding three years.

Republican legislative leaders earlier this month asked Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette to weigh in because Republican Gov. Rick Snyder interpreted a law rescuing the Detroit district from debt to mean the State School Reform/Redesign Officer cannot close any district school until 2019.

Schuette's office Wednesday released an official opinion, which is legally binding on state agencies and officers unless reversed by a court.

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and House Speaker Kevin Cotter had said the law's "plain language" authorized Detroit school closures by the end of this school year and to say otherwise ignored legislative intent.